William h



(Model-z) l W. IL GORDON. Cheese-Safe.

No. 228,627. Patented June 8,1880.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

lVIliLIAM H. GORDON, OF DETROIT, MICHIGN, ASSIGNOR TO E. T. BARNUM,

` OF SAME PLACE.

CHEESE-SAFE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,627, dated June 8,1880. Application led lApril 5, 1880. (Model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. GORDON, of Detroit, county of Vayne,State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement inCheese-Safes; and I declare the following` to be a full, clear, andexact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to cheese-safes; and it consists in the combinationof devices and appliances hereinafter set forth, and more particularlypointed out in the claim.

In the'drawings, Figure l. is .a perspective View of a cheese-safeembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a central section of same. Fig. 8 is avariation, showing how the glass side may be inserted from beneath.

Heretofore cheese-safes have been constructed with glass sides and witha door, of wire-cloth, adapted to be raised and to slide back betweenthe parts constituting the top of the safe. Difficulty has, however,been experienced, owing to the fact that the door being of wire-cloththe ventilation has been so great as to dry and harden the cheese on thefreshcut surfaces. So, also, the wire-cloth has required the use of aroller, over which it might iiex as it was raised, and thewire-clothitself, by alternate bending and straightening, very sooncaused the wire strands to break. Another serious objection has been thefact that the door is very liable to receive hard knocks, which wouldindent the wire-cloth and cause itto bind and catch as the door wasraised and slid between the parts of the safe above, besides seriouslymarring its appearance.

The object of my invention is to make a safe which shall be providedwith a exible sliding door, yet which will obviate theforegoingobjections.

Ais the body of the safe, its sides and back B being of glass, so as toprevent a circulation of air through them. O is a rolling pivoted standfor the cheese, and D is the door. The door is made of slats, of wood orother material, laid edge to edge, and united by a piece of canvas orother suitable fabric,`which is pasted upon the back of the slats. Thedoor so formed is itted to slide within suitable grooves made in theframe-work of the safe, and a handle is provided for actuating the door.In the instance shown in the drawings the door is adapted to be openedby lifting it up, which causes it to slide back between the partsconstituting the top of the safe; but it is not essential that the doorshould open by an upward movement, for it is apparent that 6o the edgesof the iiexible slat-door lnay be fitted to slide in grooves at the topand bottom of the frame, and be made to open by sliding it sidewise, inwhich case it would flex about one of the-vertical posts of the frame,and then or the direction of motion given to the door being immaterial,the essential feature of my invention being the employment of a flexibleslidin g door which shall open within the space voccupied by the safeitself, said door being made of parallel slats fastened together edge 8otoy edge, whereby a door is made that does not deteriorate by frequentlyopening and closingone that cannot become distorted or bind within itsgrooves, and which cannot become indented, so as to impair its looks, orso distort it as to cause it to bind at any point against the frame-workofthe safe as the door is being opened and closed. When a safe isconstructed in this manner with glass sides and a close-Slat door it isso nearly air-tight that 9o the fresh-cut surfaces of the cheese willnot dry and be thereby impaired, yet sufficient air can circulatethrough the grooves around the edges of the sliding door to preventmildew or mold.

I am aware that I am not the first to provide a cheese-safe with a rigiddoor, nor am I the first to provide it with a iiexible door which, bysliding, can open within the limits occupied ay the safe itself 5 but,so far as l am roo pass in beneath the 7o aware, I am the irst who hasproduced a door of rigid material, yet a flexible construction, so as topermit the door, by sliding, to open within the limits of the safe.

It is, of course, not essential that the sides or walls of the safeshould be made of glass, except Wh en it is desired to make itpractically air-tight, in which case they should be made of glass orwood or metal; but they might be made of woven-wire screen.

I make no claim to a cheese-safe having its three sides made of' glass,and a iiexible sliding door; and, further, I make no claim to a'flexible door or cover made of slats of wood connected together, as myinvention consists in a cheese-safe of the peculiar construction ofparts specified in the claim.

A close cheese-safe three sides of which are formed of glass or otheriniperforate material7 2o while one side is open and provided with asliding door composed of slats united edge to edge by a facing offabric, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I sign this speciticaz5'

